Plate catcher and cleaner for tinning machines



p 1932- s. E. DIESCHER PLATE CATCHER AND CLEANER FOR TINNING MACHINES Filed Oct. 26.- 192'? 2 Sheets-Sheet um..- JFLJQH Sept. 6, 1932. s. E. DIESCHER PLATE CATCHER AND CLEANER FOR TINNING MACHINES Filed Oct. 26. 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 WITNESS Patented Sept. 6, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE I SAMUEL E. DIESCHER, OF PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR T S. DIESGHER & SONS, OF PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, A PARTNERSHIP CONSISTING OF SAMUEL E. DIESCHER AND AUGUST P. DIESOHER Application filed October 26, 1927.; Serial No. 228,812.

' and into the catcher rolls at the discharge side ofthe pot. After the plate has passed through the upper body portion of the grease its coating of tin becomes set, and after it passes out of the pot the layer of grease adhering to it prevents oxidization of the tin while the plate is still hot. The adhering layer of grease is ordinarily much thicker than necessary to prevent oxidation, a mere film being all that is needed. After the plate is cooled to a temperature below that at which the tin oxidizes in the atmosphere, such layer of grease as may then be on its surfaces not only serves no useful purpose, but must be removed to render the plate commercially useful.

The object of this invention is to provide a mechanism associated with or forming a part of a tin plate catcher arranged above the discharge side of a tin pot or other coating mechanism whereby a substantial portion of the grease adhering to the coated plate may be removed fromthe plate and returned directly to the grease pot.

A further and more specific object is to provide means for impelling the flow of heated grease from hot coated plate after it,

emerges from a coating machine and prior to itsengagement by catcher rolls, and for maintaining the catcher rolls at a relatively low temperature for the removal from the plate of a substantial portion of the grease adhering to it. I

In the accompanying drawings, Fig. 1 is a plan view of a pair of catcher rolls and associated mechanism embodying the invention; Fig. 2 a vertical sectional view to enlarged scale taken on the line II-II, Fig. 1; and Fig. 3 a longitudinal central sectional view of a catcher roll, the plane of view being indicated by the line IIIIII, Fig. 2. I) In the practice of this invention provision is made for applying gaseous grease-removing jets to the surfaces of coated plate after it emerges from a grease pot at the discharge side of a tinning machine and prior to its engagement by a pair of catcher rolls; These jets are applied in such a manner that they cause downward flow of hot grease upon the plate so that it drops back into the grease pot. Preferably the grease-removing jets are of air of such temperature and in such volume that they remove grease from the plate and cool it to such temperature as is permiss'ible without causing the plate to warp. To this end it is usually necessaryx'to raise the temperature of the air for the jets, which may be done by passing the air through a conduit subjected to the heat of the products of combustion of the tin pot burners. The temperature to which the air is thus or otherwise raised should be low enough to cause the jets to cool the tin coating of the plate below about 320 F., which is about the temperature at which heated tin changes from an allotropic to its normal coherent form in a cooled state. By cooling the coating below this temperature the luster of the coating will not be impaired-by contact of the catcher rolls with the plate.

The air is led through, and issues from the lower portions of, air boxes placed between the grease potand the catcher-rolls, which boxes serve to maintain the temperature of such rolls materially below that whichthey would have if exposed directly to heat radiing from the faces of the rolls the grease which is deposited on them by contact with the plate passing between them.

Having reference now to the illustrative are shown arranged above the top of a grease pot l at the discharge side of a tinning machine. Each catcher and grease-removing roll is preferably formed of a continuous cylinder 2 mounted upon hubs or discs 3 attached to a driven shaft 4, the cylinders preferably being made ofcast iron which has. been found to be particularly suitable for the purpose. The external diameter of hubs 3 is less than the internal diameter of cylinders 2, the construction in this respect being the same as disclosed in my Patent No. 1,067,805 with the attending advantages therein explained. As shown in Fig. 1, shafts 4 are provided-at one of their ends with intermeshing, pinions 5 for simultaneous rotation, and the other end of one of the shafts is provided with a sprocket wheel 6 for driving it. The rotation of shafts 4 frictionally imparts rotation to cylinders 2 in the manner fully explained in my said patent, the discs and cylinders being herein shown as provided with registering grooves and projections to impart increased frictional contact for the discs to drive the cylinders.

Between the catcher rolls and the top of grease pot 1 provision is made for applying gaseous jets to the surfaces of the plates fbr the purpose previously explained. At the outside of each catcher roll cylinder 2 there is an air box 15, the two-boxes being connected at one end to an air supply conduit 16. At its lower portion each box turns inwardly beneath a roll and terminates in a jet orifice or nozzle 16 of elongate form adjacent to the path of upward movement of the coated plate indicated by the line 17. The arrangement here is such that sheet-like jets are played on the opposite sides of the plate as it passes upwardly into the bite of the catcher rolls. While the jets are shown as being somewhat inclined downwardly, they may nevertheless be otherwise disposed because when jets ofair strike the surfaces of the plate the air spreads laterally and imparts a downward flow of hot grease even when the jet orifices are inclined somewhat upwardly.

The lower faces of the air boxes are preferably provided with outwardly flaring lips 18 for receiving the upper ends of plates for guiding them toward the bite of .the catcher rolls'. Also, lips 19 are preferably formed in the upper sides of the inwardly pro ecting portions of the air boxes to serve the double functions of limiting the upward flow of air from the orifices and of forming troughs for receiving such grease removed from the plate by the catcher rolls as mav flow downwardly on the walls of the boxes adjacent to the rolls.

As the plate passes between the catcher rolls and is engaged by them'a substantial portion of the grease remaining on its surface adheres to the surfaces ofthe catcher rolls. Grease is continuously removed from the catcher rolls preferably by scrapers 25, mounted in suitable holders 26, and arranged to bear upon the tops of the rolls, the scrapers preferably being steel blades which have been found to be particularly suitable for the inwardly projecting portions of boxes 15 and lips 19, and from the ends of these troughs flows into the grease pots. While thecombined plate-catcher and grease-removing mechanism may be variously mounted upon or with relation to a tin pot, it is preferably supported by frames 27 attached to the end of a plate conveyor and grease-removing mechanism 28, one end of which is illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, but which is more fully disclosed in my copending patent application Serial No. 164,222, filed J anuary 28, 1927.

In the operation of the invention coated plate is moved upwardly out of the grease pot by the uppermost pair of-tinning rolls customarily arranged in the grease pot, and is engaged by the catcher rolls 2 for its further removal' Between the catcher rolls and the top of the grease in the pot, sheet-like jetsof air impinge, as has been explained, upon the plate to remove a substantial portion of the grease from its faces. Such cooling of the remaining grease adhering to the plate as. may be effected by the jets of air is overcome to a degree by the heat of the plate, so that when the plate is engaged by the catcher rolls the grease remaining on the plate is at a temperature higher than these rolls. The catcher rolls are maintained relatively cool by the air boxes interposed between the tin pot and the rolls, so that a substantial portion of the grease remaining on the plate adheres to the surfaces of the rolls, being chilled by them. This grease is continuously scraped from the rolls by scraper plates 25 and flows downwardly into the grease pot. It has been found that by the use of this mechanism a large amount of grease is removed from the coated plate with the'result that less grease is required to be removed by subsequent cleaning operations.

According to the provisions of the patent statutes, I have explained the principle and operation of my invention, and have illustrated and described what I now consider to represent its best embodiment. However, I desire. to have it understood that, within the scope of the appended claims, the invention maybe practicedby other forms of construction than specifically illustrated and described.

than the width of tin plate passing between them, and scraper blades contacting with the surface of said cylinders to remove-grease from them.

In testimony whereof, I sign In name. 'SAMUEL E. DIE CHER.

2. In a tinning machine, the combination with a tin pot, of a pair of continuous catcher rolls arranged above the pot and comprising floating cylinders of greater length than the width of tin plate passing between them, means for applyinggaseous grease-removing jets upon the, surface of the plate after it emerges from said pot and prior to its engagement by said rolls, means for maintaining said rolls at a relatively low temperature, and means-for continuously removing from the faces of said rolls cooled grease deposited on' the rolls from their contact with the plate passing between them.

3. In a tinning machine, the combination with artin pot, of a pair of continuous catcher rolls above the pot, cool air-supply boxes arranged at the sides of and below said rolls and provided with noz zles for applying jets of grease-removing air' to the 'surfaces of coated plate as it passes upwardly into the bite of said rolls, and means for continuously removing from the faces of said rolls cooled grease deposited on the rolls from their. contact with the plate passing between them.

4. In a tinning machine, the combination with a tin pot, of a pairof continuous catcggr rolls above the pot, cool air-supply boxes ranged at the sides of and below said rolls and provided with orifices for applying jets of grease-removing air to the-surfaces of coated plate as it; passes upwardly into the bite of said rolls, said boxes serving tomaintain said rolls at a relatively-low temperature, whereby grease from the ,tin plate adheres to the faces of the rolls, and scrapers arranged uponsaid rolls for removing gease from them.

5. In a tinning machine, the combination I with a tin pot, of a pair of catcher rolls arran (1 above the pot and comprising a pair of oating continuous cylinders formed "of cast iron and of greater lengththan the width of tin plate passing between them, and steel scraper blades contacting with the surfaces of said cylinders to remove grease from them. 6. In a tinning machine, the combination with a tin pot, of continuous rolls arranged above the pot-and comprisinfg ing jcontinuous cylinders o apairoffloatgreater length. 

